The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1887-09-13
summer pays In PARIS.

[Oliver Wendell Holmes In Atlantic M0nthly.l
The weather was hot we were tired, and
did not care to go to the theatres, II any
OF them were open. The pleasantest hours
were those Of our afternoon drive In the
Champs Elysees and the Bois de Boulogne-
or ''the Boulogne Woods, as our American
tailor's wife of the old time called the favo-
rite place for driving In passing the Place
de la Concorde, two objects in especial at
tracted my attention-the o5elisk, which was
lying. when left 1t. in the great scow which
brought it from the Nile, and the statue Of
Strasbourg, all covered with wreaths and
flags. How like children these Parisians do
act crying "A Berlln BerlinF' and when
Berlin comes to Paris. and Strasbourg goes
back to her old proprietors, instead Of taking
1t quietly, making all this parade Of patriotic
symbols. the display Of which belongs to vic
tory rather than to defeatl
L was surprised to find the trees In the Bois
de Boulogne so well grown. had an pdea
that they had been largely saerinced In the
time Of the siege. Among the objects which
deserve special mention are the snrleking
parrots and other birds and the yelping dogs
In this grounds Of the Society Of Acchmatlzar
tion-out Of the range Of which the visitor
will be glad to get as soon as possible. A
fountain, visited by newly married couples
anu Will AEobaul aus ht1A vi
where the bridal party drink the health Of
the newly married pair, was an object OF Gu
Tiosity. An unsLeadineSs OF gait was OBVIOUS
in some OF the feasters. At one point In the
middle Of the road q maenad was nlnging ner
arms about and shrieking as II she were Just
escaped from madhouse. But the drive In
the Bois was what made Paris tolerable.
There were few fine equipages, and few dis
tinguished looking people IN the carriages,
but there were quiet groups by the waySide,
aaantnO hannv aUnuOh and nOW and then "a
pretty face or a wonderful bonnet gave vari-
ETY. to the somewhat bourgeois character OF
| the procession OF hacres.
/ suppose | ought 10 form no opinion at all
about the aspect Of Paris, any more than
should Of an oyster In a month without an
in it, We were neither Of US in the best
mood for sight seeing, and Paris was not
sitting up for company, In fact, she was mot
at home" Remembering all this, l must say
that the whole appearance OF the city was
dull and dreary-LOndOn out OF season
seemed still full Of life; Paris out Of season
| looked yacu0us and torpid. The recollection
| of the sorrow, the humiliation, the shame and
| the agony she had passed through since left
her picking her way on the arm OF the Citi-
/ zen King, with his old rtttdrd over her, rose
before me sadly, ominously, as looked upon
the high board fence which surrounded the
ruins Of the Tulleries. l can understand the
impulse which led the red caps 70 make a
wreck Of this grand old historical building.
"Pull down the nest, they SAID, an0 tne
! birds will not come Dack. Dull snuuucf
| when think what ''the red Ol-fury OF tho
| Seine" has done and Is believed capable Of
/ doing. / think nothing has so profoundly
/ Impressed me as the story OF the precautions
/ taken to preserve the Venus Of Milo from the
| brutal hands Of the mob. A little more vi0-
| lent access Of fury, a little more fiery decla-
nation, a few more bottles Of Gin bleu and
| the gallery Of the Louvre, with all its treas
ures of art, compared with which the crown
| jewels Just sold are but pretty pebbles, the
market price Of which fairly enough ex-
| presses their value-much more rather. than
their true value,-th noble gallery, with all
| Its masterpieces from the hands OF Greek
| sculptors and Italian painters, would have
been changed In a single night into heap Of
blackened stones and pile Of smoking cin-
/ ders. ~
l love TO think that now that the people
have, or at least think they have, the power
In their own hands. they will outgrow this
form OF madness, which Is almost entitled TO
the name Of Partisan endemic. Everything
looked peaceable and stupid enough during
the week passed In Paris. But among Al
the fossils which Cuvier found In the fails- sls-
ian basin, nothing was more monsrOus tnan aa
the poissdrdes Of the old Revolution. OF me
petrOleuses Of the recent Commune, anu
fear that the breed Is not extinct.